Turn It Off!
by the corrupted quiet one
Summary: Gary can't concentrate on chemistry thanks to some rather strange feelings towards his lab partner. Will he let his odd emotions run away with him or will he turn them off? Stan/Gary, mostly one-sided


Gary twiddled his thumbs, staring at his Chemistry notes on the table. His teeth chattered softly as he tried to keep his eyes on the periodic table rather than the boy across the table.

"Gary...?" Stan asked, looking over at the blond curiously, "Are you...feeling okay?"

"What?" Gary's head snapped up, instantly regretting that reflex when he met that azure gaze. Gary wasn't sure what was worse, being a closet homosexual Mormon or crushing on the muscular _straight and taken_ quarterback.

He still remembered first moving to South Park... How Cartman made jokes about Gary being Stan's little 'girlfriend'. Didn't _those_ memories take a chomp out of his ass when that dreaded crush developed in eighth grade.

_Turn it off..._ He told himself, biting down on his lip as Stan stared him down, _Turn it off like a light switch..._

"Oh no, Nothing's wrong," Gary flashed a smile, "I'm just trying to balance this equation, that's all!" His tone was as upbeat and happy as ever, hiding his inner dilemma from the ebon's notice. Part of him wish he wasn't so good at hiding his feelings.

"Oh..." Stan pursed his lips, "Okay, man." With that, he looked back at his notes, going back to letting Gary do his own overachieving happy-go-lucky Mormon thing, oblivious to Gary's discomfort.

The blond sighed, looking back down at his notes in silence.

He hated how hard things were for him, not seeing why Heavenly Father had to add /this/ to his plan.

He couldn't tell anyone about his attraction to men, the very thought was scandalous! And then there were the feelings for Stan... Those feelings that could never be let out. Not only was it sinful of him to think about Stan that way, but it was also pointless. Stan was the attractive jock—the cause of many girls' wet dreams, no doubt—and he had a girlfriend. Things between him and Wendy stabilised when they got into high school and the couple was stronger than ever; so what business did Gary have falling for him?

_Come on Gary... Just... Think about something else... Yeah..._ He let his mind wander, wanting to send his thoughts as far away as possible.

_A deserted island... Yeah... A nice island in the middle of the sea... Why, I'll have a little tree house to live in with a nice big hammock... And I can eat coconuts everyday... And hang out with monkeys... And wear absolutely nothing... And take long walks on the shore... And skip stones... And just live in peace away from all this craziness in civilisation..._

The island materialised before him, marooning Gary in his ideal spot. A soft ocean breeze blew in from the shore, caressing his body. He took a deep breath of salty air in, smiling at the swaying palm trees and scattered coconuts and shells on the sand. The sun beat down, making the fantasy all the more perfect.

_"There room on this island for one more?"_

Gary turned, peering down the shore. His smile grew when he saw Stan strolling down the shore, unclothed, sunshine accenting his strong muscles. His inky hair waved in the breeze, making Gary's fingers tingle as the urge to run his hands through the dark locks grew.

"Of course," Gary beamed, taking a few shy steps towards the ebon, "I'd hate to be all alone on this island. And out of all the people on planet, I'm glad that you're the one here with me..."

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking that," His eyes sparkled as he let out a chuckle.

Gary laughed along with him, though he felt his bashful nature start to loom over him as Stan got even closer. He could've sworn the sun was heating up and making his face hotter.

"Gary, are you blushing?" Stan smirked, stopping just a few strides away, "Come on, it's just me."

"I know, Stan..." He said, "It's just... That's kind of my problem..." He kicked a pile of sand behind him, eyes drifting out to sea.

"Hey, how about we forget about our problems, huh?" Stan took the final few steps and closed the distance between the blond and him, "We can just chill here for a while... You and me... We can just drink coconut juice and swim in the ocean and stuff. We can do it all together." He placed a hand on Gary's shoulder.

The blond looked back at Stan, staring wide-eyed at the warm, alluring smile on his face. The waves splashed against the shore and tickled their feet as the two stood in silence, eyes locked, and waiting for something to happen. They had the time to wait; they had all the time in the world.

"Stan..." Gary finally said, "I...I think I should be honest with you..." _I should've been honest from the START since lying is BAD..._ "But before I was always worried since, well, I'm a Mormon and my beliefs don't really agree with how I feel and you had Wendy and—"

"Gary," Stan cut him off, leaning his head closer, "Just forget about that and enjoy the moment."

"But...Okay..." He couldn't stop himself from smiling as Stan's face grew near to his own, waiting for that moment when their lips would finally...

"_WHOA!_" Gary shot up, snapping out of his daydream. His chair fell back, clanking as it hit the floor.

Stan glanced at Gary wearing a slightly alarmed expression.

"Dude, are you really okay?" He asked, looking the blond over. Judging by the other's shaky knees, wide eyes, and paler disposition, Stan had a hunch that something was going on.

_Turn it off like a light switch, Gary, just treat those pesky feelings like a reading light and turn them off..._

"I-I'm alright." He said, forcing a pained smile.

"Then why'd you just flip a shit randomly?" Stan raised a brow suspiciously, "I don't think balancing chemistry equations is that fucking thrilling, man."

"Ch-chemistry?" Was that what he was allegedly doing? "Oh no, it wasn't chemistry related..." _Not exactly anyway..._

"Then what is it, Gary?" Stan narrowed his eyes, "Seriously, you've been a bit too jumpy today to be focused on helping a lab partner finish a few analysis questions."

"Well... That's because..." He paused, trying to cook up a good explanation.

_Do I lie? Lying is so wrong... But I can't have him find out what I was really thinking... I can't let ANYBODY find out what I was just thinking... God I just need to turn it off... Turn it off... TURN IT OFF... and get the fudge out of here..._

"Because?" Stan wasn't keen on patience.

"Because..." _Just say something, gosh danget!_ "I remembered that I really should get home and help my siblings prepare for family night!" His smile relaxed, turning a bit more natural, "Yeah, they'll need an extra hand! I mean, I'd love to help you more, Stan, but I have to go."

"Oh... Okay," He shrugged, "Well, I can always ask Kyle for the answers or something.

"Right, you can," Gary grabbed up his notebook and backpack, "I'm real sorry I couldn't help you anymore though."

"It's cool; I know you and your family do all that... Weird Mormon shit..." He still didn't get the concept of Mormonism much, "And I know it's a big deal to ya so I'm not going to keep you any longer."

"Thanks, Stan," Gary nodded, setting the chair back on four legs and turning towards the exit, "I'll see ya around!"

"Later, bro," He waved.

Gary waved back, only stopping when he saw Stan shift his attention back to his science. After that, he quickly walked out of the room, taking a deep breath once he was alone in the hall.

"That was close..." He muttered, "A little too close..." He sighed, a cloud of shame forming over him, raining angst down on him as he started down the hall, "I need to learn my lesson already... I'm a Mormon, gosh danget! I know Heavenly Father wants me to be with a woman, so I should just crush all those strange feelings for Stan! I mean, come on, that's just not right...Right?"

He thought back his daydream, how everything was perfect when it was just him and Stan. They were both happy... There were no worries... And they nearly...

"TURN IT OFF." Gary snapped his fingers, jogging himself out of his silly dreams, "That's all ya gotta remember, Gary..."

He shook his head, trying to push all thoughts of Stan from his mind.

"_Just turn it off..._"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I blame listening to the Book of Mormon soundtrack too long. But this had to be done. It just did, okay? I've meant to write this for some time but just decided that now was the perfect time since it managed to cheer me up a little (though I'll likely still be crying until October QAQ). **

**Anyway, since Gary was in like, one episode, I had very little to work with. So yay for total BS. I do kind of like the idea of this pair, though, even if it is one-sided (though Gary did call Stan an asshole at the end of the episode) or something. **

**Thanks for reading. Leave a little review or something. And don't forget to treat those pesky feelings like a reading light and turn 'em off! ~CQO**


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